Bangladesh factory collapse: Who really pays for our cheap clothes?

By Anna McMullen, special for CNN

Updated 11:24 AM ET, Fri April 26, 2013

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Members of the Bangladesh army pray at the site of the collapsed Rana Plaza in Savar near Dhaka on Tuesday, May 14. The army-led effort to search for bodies has ended nearly three weeks after the nine-story building collapsed. The final death toll stands at 1,127.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives of missing garment workers offer prayers in front of the rubble on May 14 in Savar.

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Photos: Building collapses in Bangladesh – A white board at the recovery command center near the disaster is used to track the death toll on Monday, May 13.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Heavy equipment sifts through the rubble of the garment factory building collapse on Sunday, May 12.

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Photos: Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman cries holds a portrait of a missing relative believed to be trapped in the rubble of the Rana Plaza building on Saturday, May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi garment worker Reshma Begum, a seamstress who survived 16 days trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building, rests in Savar Cantonment Hospital on the outskirts of Dhaka on May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives search through a long line of covered decomposing bodies to try to identify their family members on May 11.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers retrieve Reshma from the rubble in Savar, Bangladesh, on Friday, May 10. She got rescue workers' attention by waving an iron rod. She was found in a pool of water, which allowed her to stay alive.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured worker who survived the building collapse is carried by her husband to collect her wages in Savar near Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, May 8.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Garment workers who survived the building collapse line up to collect their salaries in Savar on May 8.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Workers continue rescue and recovery operations on Tuesday, May 7, nearly two weeks after the Rana Plaza building's collapse outside Dhaka.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers recover a body from the rubble on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives place a body in the back of a truck on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman attempts to identify one of the bodies kept in a schoolyard on May 7.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Members of the Bangladeshi army and firefighters carry the body of a garment worker from the scene of the building collapse in Savar, outside Dhaka, on Sunday, May 5.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman holds a portrait of her missing relative as she sleeps on Saturday, May 4.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives attempt to identify the bodies of loved ones on May 4.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers dig out debris from the Rana Plaza building as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation using heavy equipment on Friday, May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman reacts on May 3 after identifying a body found in the rubble.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A man stands amid the destruction as rescue and army personnel continue recovery operations on May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman holds up a picture of a missing person believed to be trapped in the rubble on May 3.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A garment worker rescued from the wreckage of the Rana Plaza building lies in a hospital in Dhaka on Thursday, May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman weeps after identifying her daughter's body in the rubble in Savar on May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers move debris as Bangladeshi army personnel continue the second phase of a rescue operation at the site of the collapsed building in Savar on May 2.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman mourns before a mass burial in Dhaka on Wednesday, May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Unidentified bodies from the rubble lie on the ground as people gather for a mass burial in Dhaka on May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Workers dig graves during a mass burial of unidentified garment workers on May 1.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Sohel Rana, owner of the collapsed Rana Plaza building, wears police-issued body armor and a helmet while being escorted to court in Dhaka on Tuesday, April 30. Rana was arrested near the Indian border, and protesters called for him to be hanged.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi troops carry the body of a garment worker out of the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar on April 30.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Clothing with Joe Fresh labels lies in the debris on April 30.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Cranes operated by Bangladeshi army personnel work on Monday, April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Firefighters try to control a blaze that started while they were trying to rescue a woman with heavy equipment on April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi army personnel begin the second phase of the rescue operation using heavy equipment on April 29.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers look for survivors on Sunday, April 28. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society says the chances of finding anyone alive in the rubble at this date are remote.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman mourns on April 28 at the site of the building collapse in Savar.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search for survivors on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers sleep before they begin more rescue operations on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers carry a victim's body recovered from the rubble on April 28.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Clothes lie in the rubble on Saturday, April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An arrested owner of a garment factory is escorted to an appearance at the court in Dhaka on April 27. Four people were arrested and four others are being questioned by police.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives hold photos of missing and dead workers outside the factory April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Two Bangladeshi women look at a board with notices posted of missing and dead workers on April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi relatives and workers load a body onto a truck on April 27.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An excavator operated by the Bangladeshi Army removes debris on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers conduct rescue operations on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers use textile as a slide to move bodies out of the rubble on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers look for trapped garment workers on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers stand on the rubble of the collapsed building on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search the rubble for victims and survivors on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A rescue worker looks for trapped workers on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi army personnel recover a survivor from rubble on April 26, 48 hours after the collapse.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers assist in rescue operations on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A physician assists a survivor after he was recovered from the rubble on April 26.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Two bodies clutch each other in the rubble on Thursday, April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People rescue garment workers on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A Bangladeshi woman shows a picture of her missing daughter-in-law she believes is trapped in the collapsed building on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi firefighters cut a hole through concrete during rescue operations on April 25 in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Volunteers and rescue workers work at the scene on April 25.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman appears devastated on April 25 after identifying the body of her husband killed in the building collapse.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Bangladeshi garment workers help evacuate a survivor by using a roll of fabric on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People rescue garment workers on Wednesday, April 24, after the building caved in, leaving a chaotic mass of broken concrete and twisted metal.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Relatives who lost a brother mourn outside a hospital on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured garment worker to escape from the Rana Plaza building on the outskirts of Dhaka on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Civilians help an injured garment worker on April 24. Work was proceeding slowly to avoid causing further collapse, an official said.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescue workers search for trapped garment workers in the Rana Plaza building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured Bangladeshi lies on the hospital floor on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – The injured receive treatment at a hospital on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – An injured person rests in a hospital bed on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People wait anxiously on April 24 while rescuers search for survivors.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured person out of the seventh floor on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Civilians help out in rescue efforts at the collapsed building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Hundreds watch the rescue operations on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – People search for garment workers trapped under the debris on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers help an injured worker on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A body is trapped under the damaged building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A woman is carried away from the building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – A rescue worker carries a worker to an ambulance on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Crowds gather around the collapsed building on April 24.

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Building collapses in Bangladesh – Rescuers bring out an injured garment worker from the building's sixth floor.

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Story highlights

Scores killed in Bangladesh clothing factory collapse; many still missing

Tragedy is no isolated problem, says campaign group Labour Behind the Label

The sad fact behind the building collapse in Bangladesh in which hundreds died is that it isn't an isolated problem. The story will leave the headlines at the end of this week but on Monday hundreds of thousands of workers will return to factories that are frankly further tragedies waiting to happen, and will keep producing clothes for high street brands.

Savar, where the building collapse took place, is a swampland (yes, swampland...) north of the Bangladeshi capital which has seen mass growth in recent years.

This same region was the site of a horrific factory fire in November last year, when 112 workers burned alive in a building with no fire exits.

Anna McMullen

Hundreds of factories are being thrown up in a short space of time, with limited building regulations, to meet the growing demand from western brands for cheap export clothing. And it is cheap. Wages for Bangladeshi workers are the lowest in Asia, aside from the recently opened Myanmar industry, at $37 a month.

As the demand for cheap clothing grows in the west, brands continue to look for ways to race to the bottom on prices, and sadly this involves cutting corners on health and safety. Brands will by no means admit to this.

The prices that they pay, they assure us, are enough to pay workers enough to live on and keep factories in tip top condition. But, faced with constantly decreasing incomes, factory owners inevitably let things slide, like replacing faulty machinery or fixing worrying building subsidence...

When garment factories were still mainly based in retail countries, consumers knew people who held jobs in factories, and had a personal connection with those who had been injured or put at risk in the workplace.

But with globalization has come consumer apathy. Who cares about people who make clothing? As long as it is cheap we will buy it.

Why did Bangladesh building collapse?

Just Watched

Bangladesh's garment factory scrutiny

Especially in a recession, cheap clothing is a welcome industry for many. People in western countries living on the poverty line need to buy clothes for their children.

Jobs in Bangladesh are also vital for a country where hundreds of thousands of people live below the poverty line. It isn't the responsibility of the consumer to feel guilty about buying what is readily available in shops.

Business must stop just holding up its hands to say: "It is not our fault -- they bought it." The responsibility for ensuring that a product was made with human rights in mind has to fall somewhere, and the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights says that it falls jointly to states and mass corporate businesses to "protect, respect and remedy" human rights.

In short, the brands, not the consumer, are the ones who must take responsibility for the endemic problems that this industry faces.

So what can be done? Many western brands rely on audits and in-house checks to monitor whether conditions in their factories are up to scratch. In a country where a little hand shake and a small exchange of money gets the job done, this process often fails to give an accurate picture of factory conditions, building and fire safety.

It is common for fire extinguishers to be borrowed for inspection day, for workers to be schooled in what answers they have to give when asked questions.

The Clean Clothes Campaign together with local and global unions and labor rights organizations, has developed a program that hopes to solve this. The Bangladesh Building and Fire Safety Agreement is a proposal for a sector-wide initiative that includes independent building inspections, worker rights training, public disclosure and a long-overdue review of safety standards.

The crucial element of this is that unions and worker led committees take a central role in monitoring and reporting back on improvements that need to be made, in a public way.

This transparent and practical agreement is unique in that it is supported by all key labor stakeholders in Bangladesh and internationally. So far, U.S. company PVH, owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and German retailer Tchibo have signed up to the program, but it needs a critical mass of brand support to be implemented.

Joint memorandam of understanding on fire and building safety:

Labour Behind the Label and others are calling on all brands sourcing from Bangladesh to publicly sign up to take part in the building and fire safety scheme to make transparent, worker-led improvements to the industry.

In the wake of tragedies such as yesterday's building collapse, the Tazreen fire in November, and the nearby Spectrum factory collapse some years ago, something must be done to make a change. This proposal is the best on the table by far.

How many more deaths will it take to move brands from making CSR statements of regret, to investing in a sustainable and safe industry? We hope none.